Lathe for dressing stone.



PATENTED DEC. 8, 1903.

E. R. CHENEY.

LATHE FOR DRESSING STONE.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. 2, 1901.

2 SHEETEFSHEBT 1.

N0 MODEL.

PATENTED DEC. s, 1903.

E. E. SEENEY. LATHE FOR DRESSING STONE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2, 1901.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

{HE NORms pzrzns co, PHOrD-LITNQ, WASHINGTUN, vv 1:.

Patented December 8, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ETHAN R. CHENEY, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

LATHE FOR DRESSING STONE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 746,024, dated December8, 1903.

Application filed April 2, 1901. Serial N0. 640%. (N0 model.)

To all whom it 77mg; concern.-

Be it known that I, ETHAN R. CHENEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chelsea, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Lathes for DressingStone, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like numerals on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

Heretofore in the turning of stone columns it has'been common to em ploya lathe having centers which engage suitable recesses in the ends of thestone column, the said stone column being supported entirely by thecenters and being connected to the live-spindle of the lathe to turntherewith by some suitable mechanism. A suitable tool-carriage carryinga tool is traversed back and forth on the lathebed by means of the usuallead-screws. A stone-dressing lathe of this type isillustrated in PatentNo. 265,581, granted to me October 16,1882. While such atype of lathe issuitable for turning comparatively small and short colninnsofstone, ithas been foundthat where large columns ofstone, varying from three toseven feet in diameter and from thirty to seventy feet in length, arebeing turned the centering devices such as illustrated in the abovenamed patent are insufficient to support the enormous weight of a largecolumn of stone, and in my improved lathe, which forms thesubject-matterof this application, I have devised a novel form ofcentering device which is used on both the head and tail stocks of thelathe, the said centering device comprising a socket-piece of such asize as to receive the end of the column of stone and a series ofsuitable adjustable hearing-blocks supported in the sides of thesocket-pieces and beat in; against the periphery ofthestone column attheend thereof. By adjusting the hearing-blocks the stone can be properlycentered, and the sorketpieces furnish support- 1 ing means ofsufficient strength to hold even extremely-large pillars or columns ofstone. lt has also been found that where long stone columns are lwiugturned-2'. (2., columns varying from fifty to seventy five feet inlengththe great weight of the column is liable to cause the same tobreak intermediate its ends, and to avoid this ditliculty I haveprovided my lathe with suitable work-rests, which are normally situatedbetween the ways of the bed of the lathe and in such position that theywill not interfere with the movement of the tool-carriage nor with theoperation of placing a stone column in the lathe or removing ittherefrom. Preferably I will employ two work-rests, which are situatedapproximately centrally between the head and tail stocks of the lathe,and a suitable pit will be dug in the foundations for the lathe-bed,said pit being of such a size as to admit of the two rests being droppedinto the same when the stone pillar is to be placed into or removed fromthe lathe, whereby the said rests may not interfere with such operation.After the stone has been properly supported in the lathe the rests willbe lifted from the pit and placed underneath the stone column adjacentthe said pit. Each rest comprises a suitable housing in which is mounteda vertically-adjustable roller-frame carrying a plurality of rolls. Thenthe rest has been lifted from the pit and placed in operative position,the roller-frame will be adjusted vertically in the housing until therolls contact with the under side of the stone column and partiallysupport the same. I also preferably attach to the tail-stock asupplemental motor or engine, which may be of such a size as to furnishabout half power enough to operate the lathe, whereby both the head andtail stocks are driven, thus doing away with the greattorsion to whichthe stone column would be subjected if the lathe were driven entirelyfrom the head-stock, as is the case in ordinary stone-turning lathes.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l illustrates an elevation of myimproved lathe with portions thereof broken out and with thetool-carriage omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 2 is an elevationof one of the work-rests in operative position, a portion of the ways ofthe bed ofthe lathe being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a section on theline 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 shows a section of one of the rolls employed inthe roller-frame where the stone is being polished. Figs. 5 and 6 arereduced views showing the tail-stock With the supplemental engineattached thereto. Fig. 7 is a detail showing the antifrictiourolls forthe tail-stock. Fig. 8 shows one of the hooked bolts used for holding.the head and tail stocks in place, and Figs. 9 and 10 are furtherdetails of the antifriction-rolls for the tail-stock.

The bed 3 of the lathe may be of any suitable construction, it havingthe parallel Ways at on which the tool-carriages (not shown) are mountedto slide, there preferably being a plurality of such tool-carriages, oneor more on each side of the lathe, as in my patent above referred to,the said bed 3 being supported upon a suitable stone or concretefoundation 5. At one end of the bed isrigidly mounted in any suitableway the head-stock 6, and at the other end of the bed is slidablymounted the tail-stock 7, the tail-stock 7 having the spindle 8,provided with a centering device, and the head-stock having the livespindle 10, which is driven by any suitable driving mechanism andcarrying a similar centering device.

bearing 13, the said spherical portion 12 and its bearing being in thenature of aball-andsocket joint, the purpose of which is to providemeans for taking the end thrust of the spindles 8 and 10 without thenecessity of making said spindles with a usual shoulder.

The centering devices carried by the head and tail stocks are identicalin construction, and each comprises the cup-shaped socketpiece 9,integral with its spindle, the said socket-piece being of a sufficientsize to have inserted thereint-o the end of the stone column to beturned.

In order to center the stone column and to clamp the same securely inthe cup-shaped socket-piece 9, the side walls of the said socket-piecesare provided with the series of adjusting-screws 15, which bear at theirinner ends against bearing-blocks, the said blocks engaging theperiphery of the end of the stone column, as plainly seen in Fig. l, andhaving their faces curved to fit the stone.

Before the stone column is placed into the lathe the ends thereof willbe cut to approximately the correct size, as seen at 17, Fig. l, andafter the stone has been placed in the lathe and supported in thecentering devices the latter will be properly adjusted to center thestone, as will be readily understood.

In the turning of stone columns of great length it is necessary tosupport the stone by means of suitable work-rests intermediate thecentering devices in order to prevent the stone from being broken by itsown weight, and it is also necessary that said work-rests shall be outof the way of the tool-carriages and shall also be so constructed thatthey will not hinder the operation of placing the stone into the latheor removing it therefrom. The workrest I have devised to accomplishthese objects is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and it comprises thehousing or base portion 20, in which is vertically adjustable theroller-frame 2l, the said roller-frame carrying a plurality 7 Eachspindle 8 and 10 is provided with the approximately spherical portion12, which is mounted in a suitablev 'j usted position.

of rolls which when the roller-frame is adjusted may be brought tocontact with the under surface of the stone column. The housing is ofsuch a size as to be received between the Ways 4 of the bed of thelathe, and I preferably make the same with the base 22, atthe ends ofwhich are the upturned arms 23, between which arms the roller-frame 21is vertically slidable. (See Fig. 2.) The roller-frame carries a seriesof rolls, preferably three in number, the two outside rolls 25 beingjournaled in any suitable way in fixed bearings in said roller-frame,while the central roll 26 has its shaft journaled in the movable boxes27, guided in suitable ways in the roller-frame and capable of beingadjusted vertically by means of the adjustingscrews 28, which hear attheir ends against the boxes and operate through the floor of theroller-frame, (see Fig. 3,) suitable checknuts 30 being employed to lockthe screws in their adjusted positions. The objectin mak ing the centralroll 26 adjustable is so that the three rolls of the series may bebrought to bear with an even pressure upon the periphery of a stonecolumn of any diameter. The roller-frame 21 is vertically adjusted inthe housing 20 by means of adjusting-screws- 35, which operate in thefloor of the rollerframe 21 (see left-hand end of Fig. 2) and bear attheir lower ends against suitable rests '36. the usual check-nuts 37being provided to hold the said adjusting-screws in their ad- PreferablyI will employ a series of such adjustingscrews on each side of theroller-frame, there being four adjusting-screws shown in each series inthis embodiment of my invention, although, of course, it will beunderstood that the number of screws may be varied according to thecircumstances of the case.

The base or floor 22 of the housing 20 is provided with two series ofpockets 38, which contain suitable cushions upon which the rests 36 aresupported, the cushions being illustrated in the drawings as disks 40,of rubber, though it will be understood that metallic springs orcushions may be used, if desired. The object of the cushions is toprovide a slightly-yielding support for the roller-frame, so as to avoidthe danger of breaking the work-rest should a chip or other foreignmatter pass between the rolls and the stone column.

To prevent as far as possible any chips from getting caught between therollers and the stone column, I preferably employ elastic clearers 100,which may be bolted to the roller-frame, as shown in Fig. 2, and whichare curved at their upper ends and rest fiat against the surface of thestone column.

The rests 36 for the ends of'the adjustingscrews 35 are sectional rests,they comprising a series of sections 36', which may be placed one abovethe other for the purpose of bringing the upper surface of the rest toany required height, and preferably the sections lIO 36' will havesuitable interlocking faces, as seen in Fig. 2. The upper member of thesectional rest 36 is preferably provided with a central recess in whichthe end of the adjusting-screw 35 may be seated.

In order to strengthen the housing and prevent the same from giving oryielding under the stress due to the great weight of the stonesupportthereon, I preferably connect the arms 23 by means of the tie-rods 43,said tierods engaging at their ends suitable ears or lugs 44. Preferablyeach arm 23 will also have pivoted thereto an extensiblecompression-brace 45, the said brace comprising the member 46, pivotedto the arm 23, in the end of which is mounted the screw 47, the end ofthe screw when in its adjusted position hearing against the webs of theways 4 of the bed of the lathe, as seen in Fig. 2.

The foundation 5 for the bed 3 of the lathe is preferably provided witha suitable pit 50, situated approximately centrally between the head andtail stocks of the lathe, the said pit preferably being of such a sizeas to receive two of the work-rests above described, and either side ofthe pit on the foundation will be secured, by means of bolts or inanyusual way, the bed-plates 51 for the work-rests.

Whenever it is desired to put a stone column into the lathe or remove ittherefrom, the work-rests will be removed from the bedplates 51 anddropped into the pit 50, thereby placing the said work-rests below thebed of the lathe and out of the way of the stone column, it beingunderstood, of course, that before the work-rests are thus lowered intothe pit the roller-frame 21 will be adjusted to its lowest position byremoving the sectional rests 36 and adjusting the adjustingscrews 35.After the stone has been placed in the lathe and centered, as abovedescribed, the work-rests will be raised from the pit and placed uponthe bed-plates 51 either side of the pit, the housing of the work-restbeing firmly secured to the bed-plates by any suitable means, as bybolts 60, and preferably either the bed-plate or the work-rest will haveslots therein, so that the housing of the workrest may be adjustedtransversely of the lathebed. The surface of the stone column will beturned olif to a true cylinder at the point immediately above thework-rests, and then the said roller-frames of each work-rest will bevertically adjusted to bring the outside rolls 25 in contact with thesurface of the stone column. A sufiicient numberof sections 36 of therest 36 will be used underneath each adjusting-screw 35 to bring thesaid rollerframe to the desired height. The central roll 36 is thenvertically adjusted, by means of the adjusting-screw 38, so as to bringthe said roll in contact with the stone. The adjnsting-screws 35 may bethen operated to raise the roller-frame sufficiently so that the saidwork-rest may support the proper proportion of the weight of the stone.

As the tool-carriage is operated to turn the surface of the stone to thedesired diameter, the roller-frames 21 will of course be verticallyadjusted, so as to keep the rolls in contact with the surface of thestone.

Generally stone columns are turned with the largest diameter in thecenter and with a taper toward each end, and it will be understood, ofcourse, that the rolls in the rollerfratne will be slightly conical, soas to fit the taper on the stone column. Where the column tapers and therolls are conical, the weight of the stone upon the work-rests inclinesto move the rests toward the smaller diameterof the stone, and Ipreferably, therefore, tie the two rests together by means of a tie-rod70, so as to prevent them from sep arating, and to further steady thesaid rests I may use the bracerod 71, which is screwed into a suitableboss in the roller-frame 21, as seen in Fig. 3, and is fastened at itslower end to any suitable anchor-plate in the foundation 5 for thelathe.

While the stone is being turned I may use rolls of any material; butwhile the stone is being polished I preferably use rolls having asurface of wood, as seen in Fig. 4, in order not to bruise or scratchthe polished stone, the roller-frame 21 being provided with theremovable caps 77, whereby when the same are removed the rolls becomeaccessible and can be removed if it is desired to change the same.

The wooden rollers I prefer to use are made up by, a series ofwedge-shaped blocks 73, having the grain of the blocks running in aradial direction, the said blocks being sup ported on a suitable core74, mounted upon the roller-shaft, and being sustained between flanges75 (see dotted lines, Fig. 4) at the ends of the roll. Bolts 76 arepassed through-each block 73 and through the flanges 75 of the roll,thus tying the various parts of the rolls together. A roll constructedin this way is capable of sustaining a great weight without beingcrushed.

In lathes of a size to turn large stone pillars such as above describedthe immense weight of the tail-stock makes it diiiicult to move the sameback and forth on the bed, so as to accom modate difierent lengths ofcolumns, and to facilitate the movement. of the tail-stock I provide thesame with autifriction-rolls which are normally inoperative, but whichmay be rendered operative when it is desired to shift the position ofthe tail-stock.

Referring to Figs. 7 to 10, the tail-stock is provided with the shafts92, running transversely of the lathe-bed and carrying frictionrollers90, situated immediately above the ways 4 of the bed, the said shafthaving the eccentric portion 91 mounted in suitable bearings in thetail-stock. The end of the shaft which projects beyond the bearings ispreferably squared. The eccentricity of the portion 91 of the shaft issuch that in one position of the shaft the rolls will be just out ofcontact with the ways 4 of the bed of the lathe, (see Fig. 9;) but bypartially turning the said shaft the rolls are thrown down onto the bedand the tail-stock lifted snfliciently to clear the ways 4. Thetail-stock then be ing supported on the antifriction-rolls 90 may bereadily shifted to the desired position, when by turning the shaftbackward again the said tail-stock will be lowered to rest upon the ways4. The said tail-stock is then clamped in position by the hooked bolts95, which engage the under side of the ways 4, as usual in this class ofdevices, the heads 150 of said hooks being held in place by thesupporting-flange 151, which is integral with the tail-stock.

In the turning of stone columns of considerable length when the lathe isdriven entirely from the head-stock the torsional strain on the columnis so great as to injure the stone, and to prevent this I preferablyprovide means whereby the centers on both the head stock and tail stockare positively driven. For this purpose I preferably attach directly tothe tail-stock, so as to be carried thereby and moved therewith, a motoror engine, which is connected by suitable gearing to the center or chuckin the tail-stock.

101 in Fig. 1 represents a ring having gearteeth on its periphery, whichring is bolted or otherwise secured to the chuck or centering device 9on the tail-stock, and 102 represents suitable brackets, which aresecured in any suitable way, as by bolts, to one side of the tail-stock.A shaft 103, suitably journaled in said brackets, carries at one end asmall pinion 104, which meshes with the gear-teeth on the ring 101, andat the other end a large gear 105, meshing with the pinion 106 on thecrank-shaft of a suitable engine 107, supported on a bracket 108, boltedto the end of the tail-stock. The engine or motor may be of any suitablekind and is preferably of such a size as to furnish about half the powernecessary to run the lathe. With this construction the power necessaryto turn the stone columns is applied to both the head and tail stockinabout equal proportions,and all tendency of the stone column to twist isobviated.

Preferably I will run the engine in such a direction that the shaft 103will turn in the direction of the arrow 0., Fig. 5, and the stone columnin the direction of arrow 1), so that the pinion 104 will exert alifting action on the rim 101, thereby relieving the bearing 13 of someof the strain due to the weight of the stone column. The strain on theshaft 103 will therefore be such as to hold the brackets firmly onto thetail-stock, and the strain on the pinion 106 is such as to help hold theengine onto its bed. It will readily be seen that if the engine wererotated in the opposite direction there would be a tendency for theengine to lift itself from its bearings.

Various changes may be made in the construction of the device withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

, Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

1. A work-rest for stone-dressing lathes, said rest comprising a housingsituated between the ways of the bed of the lathe, a rollerframeadjustably mounted in said housing, a plurality of rolls in said frame,and extensible compression members projecting from each side of thehousing and adapted to engage the ways of the lathe-bed.

2. A work-rest for stone-turning lathes, comprising a housing adapted tobe placed between the ways of the lathe-bed, a rollerframe verticallyadjustable in said housing, said roller-frame having three parallelrolls journaled therein and projecting above the upper side thereof, thecentral roll being vertically adjustable in the roller-frame.

3. A work-rest for stone-turning lathes, comprisinga housing adapted tobe placed between the ways of the lathe-bed, a rollerframe carried bysaid housing and having a series of rolls, means for verticallyadjusting said roller-framein the housing, said adjusting meanscomprising a series of adjustingscrews operating in the floor of therollerframe and hearing at their lower ends in detachable rests carriedby the housing.

4. A work-rest for stone-turning lathes, comprising a housing adapted tobe placed between the ways of the lathe-bed, a frame carried by saidhousing and having a bearing to partially support the stone, means forvertically adjusting said frame in the housing, said adjusting meanscomprising a series of adjusting-screws operating in the floor of theframe and hearing at their lower ends on elastic rests carried by thehousing.

5. A Work-rest for stone turning lathes, comprising a housing adapted tobe placed between the ways of the lathe-bed, a rollerframe carried bysaid housing and having three parallel rolls journaled therein, meansfor adjusting the central roll relative to the outside rolls, and meansfor vertically adjusting said roller-frame in the housin said adjustingmeans comprising a series of adj listing-screws operating in the saidroller-frame and hearing at their lower ends on rests carried by thehousing.

6. A work-rest for stone-turning lathes, comprising a housing situatedbetween the ways of the lathe-bed, a roller-frame carried by saidhousing, and having a series of rolls journaled therein, means forvertically adjusting said roller-frame in the housing, said adjustingmeans comprising a series of adjusting-screws operating in the saidframe, and hearing at their lower ends in rests, said rests being madein sections, whereby the height of the rest may be varied.

7. In a stone-turning lathe, a bed, head and tail stocks each having arotary centering device to support the end of a stone column, drivingmeans on the head-stock to rotate the centering device thereon, and amotor connected to the centering device on the taillZO stock andoperating to drive the same, said motor being independent from thedriving means on the head-stock.

8. In a stone-turning lathe, a bed, head and tail stocks each having arotary centering device to support the end of a stone column, drivingmeans on the head-stock to rotate the centering device thereon, and amotor connected to the centering device on the tailstock and operatingto drive the same, said motor being independent from the driving meanson the head-stock and capable of developing approximately half the powerneeded to operate the lathe.

9. In a stone-turning lathe, a bed, head and tail stocks each having arotary centering device to support the end of a stone column, drivingmeans connected with the centering device on the head-stock andoperating to rotate the same, and a motor supported on the tail-stockand operatively connected with thecentering device thereon, said motorbeing independent from the driving means for the head-stock.

10. In a stone-turning lathe, a bed, head and tail stocks, each having arotary centering device to support the end of a stone column, drivingmeans connected with the centering device on the head-stock andoperating to rotate the same, and a motor carried by and movable withthe tail-stock and operatively connected to the centering device on thelatter, said motor operatingindependently from the driving devices onthe head-stock and being capable of developing half the power necessaryto operate the latter.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ETHAN R. CHENEY.

Witnesses:

LOUIS 0. SMITH, GEO. W. GREGORY.

